M3_Power

http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/news/wi...01854_14055.hbs For those that can read German Eine Auffanglösung sei gescheitert. Der Technologieführer bei hochwertigen Leichtmetallrädern hatte noch kurz zuvor den Wechsel an der Spitze des Aufsichtsrates mitgeteilt. Der frühere baden-württembergische Wirtschaftsminister Walter Döring sollte Hans-Peter Hirner (71) ablösen. BBS hatte im August 2006 mitgeteilt, dass das Unternehmen wegen der stark in die Höhe geschnellten Aluminiumpreise eine Ergebnisdelle hinnehmen müsse. Das Nachsteuerergebnis sackte im ersten Halbjahr auf minus 3,8 Millionen Euro ab. Für das Gesamtjahr 2006 hatte BBS einen Umsatz von 200 Millionen Euro erwartet. Der Umsatz des Jahres 2005 lag bei 189,8 Millionen Euro. BBS beschäftigt im Konzern rund 1.200 Menschen. Ernsthafte Liquiditätsschwierigkeiten "Obwohl zum Zeitpunkt der Antragstellung noch aussichtsreiche Verhandlungen zur Wiederherstellung der Zahlungsfähigkeit des Unternehmens geführt wurden, war der Grund für die Antragstellung, dass die Gesellschaft in ernsthafte Liquiditätsschwierigkeiten geraten war und das Ende der Antragsfrist nach Paragraf 92 des Aktiengesetzes vor dem Ablauf stand", hieß es in der Mitteilung von BBS. Zuletzt habe sich eine Lösung für die Wiederherstellung der Zahlungsfähigkeit abgezeichnet, die von den Großkunden des Unternehmens getragen werden sollte. Die Zusage der Großkunden, die erforderliche Liquidität durch größere Vorfälligkeitszahlungen bereitzustellen, seien auch erteilt worden. Die Umsetzung des Konzepts sei aber in der Nacht zum Dienstag am Widerstand einer der beteiligten Banken gescheitert, obwohl die Gesellschaft den finanzierenden Banken zum Zwecke der Fortsetzung der Finanzierung Sicherheiten eingeräumt habe. Eine Auffanglösung unter Ausklammerung der betreffenden Bank sei daher nicht mehr zu Stande gekommen. Supposedly the translation: BBS automotive technology places insolvency request 06.02.2007 16:37:00 Scold oh (aktiencheck.de AG) - the BBS automotive technology AG (ISIN DE0005196232/ WKN 519623), an offerer of high-quality light alloy wheels, announced on Tuesday that it placed 2007 insolvency request on 2 February. Although to the time of the filing of an application still promising negotiations were led to the re-establishment of the solvency of the enterprise, was reason for the filing of an application that the society was guessed/advised into serious liquidity difficulties and the end of the request period after § 92 Abs. stood for 2 of the law on limited companies before the expiration. A solution for the re-establishment of the solvency of the enterprise appeared last, which should be carried by the big customers of the enterprise. The promises of the big customers to make the necessary liquidity available by larger Vorfaelligkeits payments were also given. The conversion of the concept failed however at the night to 6 February 2007 because of the resistance of one of the banks involved, although the society had granted for the purpose of the continuation of the financing collateral to the financing banks. A catching solution under excluding the bank concerned did not come off in the course of the today's daily. The share of BBS automotive technology notes in Frankfurt at present invariably with 9,00 euro. (06.02.2007/ac/n/nw) Source: Finanzen.net/Aktiencheck.de AG

Glenn now runs Northland Prestige Service centre (used to be with Team McMillan - and by far one of the best service advisors there). He's a very good personal friend of mine (we practically grew up together and lived around the corner from each other when we were young) and a top bloke and very knowledgeable when it comes to BMWs - he spent a good near 3 years in the UK with a top BMW service centre and prior to that a very qualified autoelectrician and mechanic in New Zealand (started in Ford and then moved onto quite a few other brands). He's got one very good South African mechanic up there at the moment and is trying to get another soon.

Not running a dry sump lubrication system?? What suspension setup is it going to run? Full rear coilovers?? Just out of curiosity approximately how much is a build like this? (car excluded). That rear arch also looks a bit strange compared to the ALMS M3 GTRs (slightly sloped downwards rather than perpendicular to the body) ... I presume it's not going to a direct copy? Nice build by the way ... I was wondering when someone was going to do this in NZ

Avoid Singapore imports ... a friend of mine worked for a speedo verification company and they were shown a machine in Singarpore (posing as purchasers of this machine) that could pretty much re-write the whole history of a BMW OBDII without trace. He's a BMW factory trained technician, so he knows these things like inside out and even he was stunned by what this thing could do. Things to check for E46 especially: - rear trailing arm bushed (these wear out quite fast and can affect the handling dramatically) - front lower arm bushing (same as above) - The rear subframe issue doesn't plague the E46s as much as the E36 (although it has been reported to affect all models of the E46 where the rear subframe have cracked.) However majority of these cases happened on modified vehicles (lowered suspension) or ones that have been tracked regularly. - Coil packs also tends to go in the E46 6 cylinder engines, - Check the alternator - I've personally seen quite a few failures of the alternator on E46 models - Check the emission control pump thingee - that's also known to fail just after warranty - Check also that inspection 2 has been done (expensive) if it's due soon factor it into your bargain. That's all I can think of off the top of my head right now any way.

Thanks for the replies. Anyone happen to have the owner's number? It's no longer listed on trademe ....

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.as...;rewritten=true I've seen this car listed numerous times on trademe and it seems to have gone through a couple of owners ... anyone know the history on it? I haven't seen the car in person so am not sure on condition? But seems to be fairly tidy in the photos. Just thought it was reasonably cheap for an E30 325 ... compared to a lot of other ones out there ... Oh and leave the it's not a real E30 M3 comments out ... I just want to know if anyone knows anything about this car's history ... Thanks.

Z3 M Coupe ..... Everytime I went to push the clutch pedal to change gears I would bang my knee into the bloody dash or steering wheel no matter what I did or where I adjusted the seating position .... ergnomically it was a disaster in my opinion.

Personally I prefer the AC Schnitzer E36 M3 CLS and CLSII - only about 8 in total in the world I believe Some photos ... you gotta love the 3 seater arrangement and the baby Recaro SPG seat in the rear ....

I drive a civic as a daily and love it ... wish it was a type R though ... hmmmmm ... Personally I'd go for an E30 M3 as a daily .... why compromise comfort for enjoyment of driving?

That was the initial belief from the States - that the CS and CSL wheels looked identical, but were different - until someone cross referenced the part numbers and they turned out to be exactly the same for the rears. As far as we know they are not forged, but might be a semi solid forged construction, hence the light weight. If you don't believe me check on www.realoem.com The best website for looking up part numbers and getting pictures of how things are put together.

Here's the trademe link Starting bid = Reserve http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.as...amp;permanent=0

Hmm, actually no they are not. The M3 "CS" package offered to the rest of the world like the US and Europe shares the same rear CSL wheels made by BBS in 19 x 9.5 but narrower fronts in 19 x 8 (rather than 8.5). If you check the part numbers the rears are exactly the same between the M3 "CS" and the CSL. But one thing's for sure, the CSL wheels are very light compared to similar 19s.

Went to Team McMillan's launch last night - nice food and drinks ... and lots of people. The new 3 series Coupe was a disappointment to be honest - very minimalistic inside - way too plain for my liking. I did notice that they've gone with plastic front guards and aluminium inner guards. The engine didn't impress either. You had to look hard to see the tiny turbos they used. The person they had there giving out technical advice about the engine also wasn't very good (he pointed to coils and told me they were the injectors - I had to point out to him where the injectors were .. LOL) The M Coupe was nicer in person than the photos - it's very low slung and had a lot of sporty flares to it (I liked the rear under diffuser) The seating position was also quite nice. I did snap some photos - will post them up when I get some time.

Still have the stock CSL wheels and semi slick Michelin Pilot Cups (brand new set) of course. Just using these for normal road driving. I didn't get the set off trademe for $2000 - that was the wrong offset and it was 19 x 9.5 in the rear rather than 19 x 10. I got this set off another fellow M3 owner - he's gone with 20 inch WORK wheels - they came with brand new tyres, so at $3000 all up it wasn't too bad. I'll still use the semi slicks and OEM CSL wheels on a fine day - they are just too impractical to use on the road and completely useless in the rain. hybrid - those are nice wheels - not feeling the chrome, but otherwise they are a nice design - I love the multi spokes on a BMW. Oh and for the curious ... the CSL wheels are "A LOT" lighter than these BBS ...

I see you ended up getting my old airbox out of my old ITR (now Mark's track car). Nice car - makes me miss my old ITR, but Mark's doing a good job tidying it up. Good price you picked it up for too.

Now with BBS wheels - for road use. Seeing that the Pilot Sport cups that you get with the car are a hard compond and take years to heat up to operating temperature, I decided to grab a set of BBS CH at 19 x 8.5 ET 35 and 19 x 10 ET20 with Goodyear Eagle F1s for the CSL. These are a near perfect offset for this car I think - much better than the stock wheels at ET44 and ET27 front and rear respectively. Photos: Thanks, I'll keep you in mind - I might keep this car as a collection I think. Yes I did look at that GT3 from Armstrong in Christchurch - but it's had way too many "Porsche Cup Racer" ex owners for my liking. I also don't like the MKII as much - the MKIs are more of a classic compared to the MKII 996 GT3s. I actually nearly bought the black 996 GT3 MKI from Continental with 10,000km on the clock with 2 previous owners - now that was a mint car.

If it bites early then it usually means that the clutch is in a healthy state - it's only when it's bitting late on the up travel of the pedal that you should be worried about. Although if I am not mistaken the M3s have self adjusting hydraulic clutches (at least on the E46 M3s they are), so technically the bitting point should remain reasonably similar throughout the life of the clutch disc.

I'll be at the McMillan one on the 21st. Have spoken to a few techs at McMillan who have driven the new 335 and Z4 M Coupe ... Their responses: 335 - phenomenal car - extremely smooth and torquey. Z4 M Coupe - Down right scary

Wow that seriously is a nice looking car - well taken care of also. Love it.

There was a CSL recall notice for the airfilter around April this year - but only actioned this week by BMW NZ. I did a write up for an UK website on airbox and filter replacement for the CSL and thought I'd post it up here for future references. Recall notice No: 0013610100 Old filter part no: 13 72 7 833 644 New filter part no: 13 72 7 838 625 Now for the differences between the new and old filter - Notice in the picture below the extra band of black foam on the underside of the filter element. This stops debris and the likes from getting past the filter in the bottom right corner of the box. New Old Box removal: 1. Remove strut brace by undoing 4 x 13mm nuts (circled in blue) 2. Remove 3 sensors and 1 vaccuum line (circled in red in pic above). These are quick release sensors, so just push down on the spring release and pull. 3. Remove pollen filter and filter tray altogether. This is done by removing the lid covering the battery wiring harness (just pry open carefully - circled in yellow just above the box) Once the lid is removed just pull away the battery and sensor harness) Turn the 3 clips (circled also in yellow) anticlockwise to open the pollen filter lid. Once the lid is removed pull out the pollen filter element. 4. You will now see 4 x T30 Torx bolts (circled in red above) holding the pollen filter tray to the firewall. Undo these and pull the whole tray up and away from the car. Don't worry about the rubber seals, they will slide back into the tray quite easily. 5. Now you are ready to remove the box - I found it easier to take the SMG hydraulic fluid reservoir out of it's hoist for bit more room to remove the box, but it is not absolutely necessary if you don't mind some scratches on the carbon box. To remove the airbox you will need to undo 4 x T25 Torx screws (circled in blue above) Once removed pull the box up by lifting the front side. There are 3 guiding pins for the box (circled in yellow). NOTE: The trumpet side of the box is connected to 2 intake tubes (see pic below) These simply slide out of the intake pick up tubes behind the bumper - they are not secured in anyway or form, so just pull the whole trumpet side of the box out. It is a tight squeez, just be patient and be careful - you will not damage or scratch anything. Once removed you will see the filter element. Remove the old element and clean out the airbox (yes it will be quite dirty as the old filter doesn't seal properly especially around the bottom right edge.) Insert the new filter - it is quite a tight fit, because the filter itself is slightly longer and has the black sealing foam on the bottom to help it seal and seat in the box a lot better. Reinstall box in reverse. Special note: The trumpet side of the box is quite hard to get back in - be patient, but line up the 2 intake tubes first - the smaller tube is harder to line up. PS - for those wondering where the manual oil dipstick is - I forgot to take a photo of it - but it's roughly where the yellow arrow is in the picture above. It's very short so don't pull too hard. Thanks for reading.

Thanks for all the nice comments everyone. I have to say I am loving this car also. It's soo different to a normal M3, it's like owning a different car.

Mods list so far: AC Schnitzer Racing Suspension - full damper, rebound and height adjustable Full Borla Exhaust system The car had 12,800km on it when I picked it up - it's a one previous owner car and it's in immaculate condition. I have a very good personal friend who runs a BMW service dealership who came down to Auckland to check the car out personally for me. We had the car up on the hoist and the underfloor honestly looked like new. We checked over the history of the car and decided that it was a keeper. Drive experience: Having owned a couple of E46 M3s in the past I think I have a fairly good idea how these cars handle and drive. here was the first in 2001 with H&R suspension: The second in 2003 with AC Suspension I have to honestly say that if you thought the E46 M3 was good, the CSL simply blows it away in every department. It's the details that makes it a M3 CSL. I also have to say that despite going from 2 x 6 speed manual M3s to the SMG in the CSL, I don't actually feel the SMG detracts from the driving experience at all. In fact if anything you gain control with the SMG system. It is a very good system and astonishing what it can do. You also have to drive it like a normal 6 speed otherwise it'd be slightly jerky. I haven't had the urge to hit the phantom clutch pedal yet either. The brakes are also better in the CSL than the normal M3, although it is probably the weakest link in this car. I am sure some Alcon monoblock 6 pots will sort that out though. The biggest difference between the normal M3 and the CSL really is the weight. You really feel it the first time you step on the accelerator and turn the wheel. The car feels lot more nimble and agile and controllable, although it can get a little bit edgy at the limits. One thing that also never gets mentioned in the magazines or reviews about the CSL is how harsh it is on the road. The chassis honestly feels a lot stiffer than the normal M3 and the harshness is translated through the seats directly to the driver. The wife has already complained how uncomfortable the car is to ride in compared to the old M3. Overall I have to say this is a phenominal car ... oh and did I mention the noise ... nothing sounds remotely like it .... individual throttle inline 6 on full song ....

Call me crazy ... initially I was planning on a GT3 as a replacement, but after driving this I have to say that this is the better car.

Link here - over 60MB www.chartersventures.com/car/bencoupe/fifthgearf1.wmv

From my understand if you've owned the vehicle overseas for more than 90 days and it is in LHD form you can legally import it and register it - ie. it is exempt from the frontal impact rules. The LHD exemption however provides that you can only register one such vehicle in any given 5 year period and once registered in NZ you can't sell it for at least 5 years from date of first registration. Full info here: http://www.ltsa.govt.nz/factsheets/12.html From the link above I would say you'd be able to import any generation of E30 M3s PROVIDED IT IS IN LHD form and you can prove to the LTSA that you owned it in England for over 90 days and used it personally for over 90 days. You can then import it and sign a declaration that this vehicle is for personal use in NZ (provided you are a NZ citizen) and further state that this vehicle will not be sold within 5 years or before it reaches 20 years since manufacture - oh and you must not have imported such a vehicle within the last 5 years in NZ. If in doubt email LTSA, I am sure they'd be more than happy to help. Also it'd be a good idea to have something in writing from LTSA directly stating that the above exemption rule is still in force. The anomoly in the exemption rule above is also the fact that there's no law stopping you from converting it into RHD once it is legally registered for road use in NZ. Hope the above helps.